Misconceptions (About 'Quick' Knits and 'Solutions')

This week there hasn't been nearly as much progress on my big colourful project as I'd hoped - which means I'm still not ready to show it to you. My projects are typically quite small and when I decided to make something larger than usual, I reasoned that using big yarn and needles would make it relatively quick. Especially considering there are no more than 50 stitches on the needles at any one time. Heck, I even replaced my broken wooden needle with new metal tips which glide more easily through this yarn, and would help me to knit faster. 

Yarn: Scheepjes Mini Nooodle* in four shades (so far), Needles: 10mm KnitPro Nova

What I hadn't factored in was the relative lack of portability, and that the majority of my knitting is done while waiting around (outside the school gates, while cooking dinner, at LM's dance classes etc) and this just isn't that type of project. Not because it needs much concentration, but because of this:

You might already know that I loathe 'balling' yarn and like to find DIY 'solutions' for things - one reader previously labelled it 'MacGyver-ing'.  As this project is using a lot of skeins, I had to find a work-around so that I could knit straight from those. My solution: to open out the working skein and place it around a plastic basket (pictured) which is just about the right size. With the addition of some bulldog clips at either end, the yarn stays on the container, and I can unwind enough for each row thus avoiding the need to make a ball. 

It seemed like a great solution until I realised that it would only be realistic to knit on this at home, and in one place... and I was going away for the weekend. Of course, this is a timely reminder that it's important to have more than one project on the go at a time - the half term holidays are coming up. I must remember to stick to my own advice!

*Scheepjes Mini Nooodle is available in the UK from Wool Warehouse (affiliate).